Smart Watches Hacking Showcased by Chinese Hackers

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Until not long ago China was reluctant to open to the developments in the Internet shpere. However, in recent years this country has been gaining a more important role within this realm.

Chinese hackers have been frequent speakers at the BlackHat conference over the past couple of years, and especially at the recent annual BlackHat and DEFCON conventions held in Las Vegas.

Both hacking events attract researchers from companies and governments, expert hackers from global security companies and research organizations and even officials from U.S. government departments/agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the National Security Agency (NSA).

According to PRNewswire, Blue-Lotus, China’s only team to have entered the finals of DEFCON’s CTF global hacking contest was placed among the Top 5 in the rankings. The group stands for the highest level of performance, carrying the spirit of freedom and sharing that defines the Chinese hacker circle.

As part of this grand event for global hackers, Chinese company Baidu Security brought a cool drone formation performance: Forty-five drones showed respect for the BlackHat and DEFCON conferences, combining to form the messages”HACKFUN” and “BAIDU”. Flying in the night skies of Las Vegas, these drones received applause from hackers present at the site. This was the first ever drone performance at the BlackHat event. The fact it was presented by Baidu Security underscored how much BlackHat recognized and valued China’s hacking skills and security teams.

Baidu representatives identified a security vulnerability allowing the intruder to fully control all Pebble smartwatches (a number in the millions) before stealing and controlling the victims’ privacy data in life and at work. They have submitted a protection solution as well.